Norman McKinnel (10 February 1870 – 29 March 1932) was a Scottish stage and film actor and playwright, active from the 1890s until his death. He appeared in many stage roles in the UK and overseas as well as featuring in a number of films, the best known of which is Alfred Hitchcock's 1927 production Downhill. His surname was sometimes mistranscribed as McKinnell.
Bishop: He is a very noble and simple person, who always ready to help anyone in distress. He has all the characteristics of a good human being. When he hears the story of the convict, he showed his sympathy for him. He comes to know that the attitude of the convict turned inhuman due to bad treatment in the prison. He treats him like a friend even after the convict stole his candlesticks. He also freed him from the Sergeant by telling a lie. He gives his candlesticks to the convict and helps him to get to Paris. These kind acts of the Bishop prove that he is really a ‘man of god’.
Persome: She is the sister of Bishop. She was not generous and kind as her brother and very materialistic. She feels that the simplicity and nobility of the bishop have been misused by the people. She shows rude behavior against oppressed people.
Convict: He was leading a common life before he became a criminal. He had no faith in religion. He had given severe punishment which made him heartless and soulless, but bishop’s noble behavior changed his mind. He promised Bishop to start his life in a new way.
DRAMA IN PRECISE….
The drama The Bishop’s Candlesticks by Norman McKinnel is an excellent adaptation from a section of Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables. It is an excellent drama for students to enact and discuss. Students can divide themselves into groups of five and take turns playing the characters. This will help them to be under the skin of the characters and understand better the personalities and situations of each character. The Bishop’s Candlesticks is a drama in which the characterization is brilliant.
The drama reveals the complex dynamics and personalities that can be conditioned and formed in a society with social divisions of class. The five characters of the play are as follows: The Bishop, Persome (the Bishop’s sister), Marie, the Convict and the Police Sergeant. The Bishop and his sister Persome are very contrasting personalities. The Bishop is benevolent and kind with a deep sense of integrity. He is benevolent to the point of sacrificing all his material goods in order to help suffering parishioners. The Bishop is also very idealistic with a deep faith in God. His sister Persome on the other hand is very practical and fears that the Bishop himself will become pauperized with his extreme benevolence. She can even be a bit rude as she does not want people to take advantage of her. The Bishop does even not mind if he gets cheated now and then as he feels such people are actually cheating themselves and God. The only thing that the Bishop has left after giving away almost everything, including salt cellars, is a set of candlesticks which are very dear to him as they were gifted by his mother on her deathbed.
Marie is the domestic helper who works in the Bishop’s household. Persome is chastising towards Marie. However, Marie remains patient and polite as the Bishop is kind to her and her family and even visits her ailing mother much to the dislike of Persome. . A hungry and starving convict suddenly barges into the Bishop’s home which has always been kept open for the needy for years together wielding a knife. The Bishop is calm and composed, even though the convict is threatening him and is menacing. The Bishop finds out that the convict was unjustly given a very long sentence of 10 years, even though his only crime was that he was pushed to steal to feed his ailing and beloved wife. In the hell-like prison, the Convict became hardened and bitter and was subjected to beatings. When the Convict escaped around six weeks ago, he was pushed to starvation as he could not beg, work or be seen in order to escape being captured again. The Bishop is filled with compassion on hearing about his past. The Bishop generously allows him to sleep in his home.
The Convict who was eyeing the Bishop’s candlesticks all this time finally steals the candles and leaves. He is immediately brought back along with the candlesticks by the police sergeant. The Bishop protects the convict by stating that the convict is his friend and that the candles are a gift from him. The Bishop’s extreme kindness creates a deep awakening and change in the hardened convict. He eventually ends up sobbing at the humane way he has been treated and feels human again after being almost dehumanized.
NORMAN MCKINNEL
Norman McKinnel (10 February 1870 – 29 March 1932) was a Scottish stage and film actor and playwright, active from the 1890s until his death. He appeared in many stage roles in the UK and overseas as well as featuring in a number of films, the best known of which is Alfred Hitchcock's 1927 production Downhill. His surname was sometimes mistranscribed as McKinnell.
Maxwelltown, Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland, UK
London, England, UK
CHARACTER SKETCH
Bishop: He is a very noble and simple person, who always ready to help anyone in distress. He has all the characteristics of a good human being. When he hears the story of the convict, he showed his sympathy for him. He comes to know that the attitude of the convict turned inhuman due to bad treatment in the prison. He treats him like a friend even after the convict stole his candlesticks. He also freed him from the Sergeant by telling a lie. He gives his candlesticks to the convict and helps him to get to Paris. These kind acts of the Bishop prove that he is really a ‘man of god’.
Persome: She is the sister of Bishop. She was not generous and kind as her brother and very materialistic. She feels that the simplicity and nobility of the bishop have been misused by the people. She shows rude behavior against oppressed people.
Convict: He was leading a common life before he became a criminal. He had no faith in religion. He had given severe punishment which made him heartless and soulless, but bishop’s noble behavior changed his mind. He promised Bishop to start his life in a new way.
DRAMA IN PRECISE….
The drama The Bishop’s Candlesticks by Norman McKinnel is an excellent adaptation from a section of Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables. It is an excellent drama for students to enact and discuss. Students can divide themselves into groups of five and take turns playing the characters. This will help them to be under the skin of the characters and understand better the personalities and situations of each character. The Bishop’s Candlesticks is a drama in which the characterization is brilliant.
The Bishop and his sister Persome are very contrasting personalities. The Bishop is benevolent and kind with a deep sense of integrity. He is benevolent to the point of sacrificing all his material goods in order to help suffering parishioners. The Bishop is also very idealistic with a deep faith in God. His sister Persome on the other hand is very practical and fears that the Bishop himself will become pauperized with his extreme benevolence. She can even be a bit rude as she does not want people to take advantage of her. The Bishop does even not mind if he gets cheated now and then as he feels such people are actually cheating themselves and God. The only thing that the Bishop has left after giving away almost everything, including salt cellars, is a set of candlesticks which are very dear to him as they were gifted by his mother on her deathbed.
Marie is the domestic helper who works in the Bishop’s household. Persome is chastising towards Marie. However, Marie remains patient and polite as the Bishop is kind to her and her family and even visits her ailing mother much to the dislike of Persome.
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A hungry and starving convict suddenly barges into the Bishop’s home which has always been kept open for the needy for years together wielding a knife. The Bishop is calm and composed, even though the convict is threatening him and is menacing. The Bishop finds out that the convict was unjustly given a very long sentence of 10 years, even though his only crime was that he was pushed to steal to feed his ailing and beloved wife. In the hell-like prison, the Convict became hardened and bitter and was subjected to beatings. When the Convict escaped around six weeks ago, he was pushed to starvation as he could not beg, work or be seen in order to escape being captured again. The Bishop is filled with compassion on hearing about his past. The Bishop generously allows him to sleep in his home.
The Convict who was eyeing the Bishop’s candlesticks all this time finally steals the candles and leaves. He is immediately brought back along with the candlesticks by the police sergeant. The Bishop protects the convict by stating that the convict is his friend and that the candles are a gift from him. The Bishop’s extreme kindness creates a deep awakening and change in the hardened convict. He eventually ends up sobbing at the humane way he has been treated and feels human again after being almost dehumanized.